Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone: Which One to Choose in 2024? (Detailed Comparison)

When you are learning a new language, you need to know which platform will be best suited for you. In the present world, there are a lot of online language learning platforms where you can easily learn any language. However, the two most common platforms that you can use to learn the language are Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone. If you are also thinking of using one of them, here I will help you to get a deep comparison between Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone. Based on this comparison you can choose which platform to use to learn the language.

Quick Takeaways

• Following is a quick comparison between Pimsleur and Rosetta stone-

Features	Pimsleur	Rosetta Stone
Number of languages	More than 50 languages	More than 20 languages
Live classes	No	Yes
Pricing	starts from $19.95 per month	$44.99 for 3 months subscription
Class Duration	30 minutes long	30-minutes long along with 10-15 minutes for exercises

However, you must read till the end so that you can get a better understanding of both platforms in detail.

What is Pimsleur?

Pimsleur is a platform that is basically focused with the help of audio recordings. All the language courses on this platform follow a similar type of style and format. There are a total of five levels which start at the complete beginner level and end at an advanced stage. Each of the course have 150 audio lessons which are about 30 minutes long. In short, to be successful on this platform you must have passive learning skills.

Of course, this platform includes lots of words and grammar games, but there is not much cultural education. Also unlike many other platforms, it lacks visual learning elements. Due to this many people believe that it is a less engaging platform. The main name of this platform is to improve your pronunciation skills.

What is Rosetta Stone?

Rosetta Stone is a totally opposite platform to Pimsleur as it is a fully immersive platform. When you use this platform to learn a language you will be immersed with the language. In each of the courses on this platform, you will see that there are a lot of pictures that will help you to understand the meaning of the words and the phrases. The biggest problem with this platform is that you may not see direct translations. It means that you will have to learn the language without using your native language. Although it has a very good immersive technique, many people believe that it is an outdated method to teach someone a new language.

Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone: Quick Comparison

Following are the factors on which we have been comparing both platforms-

1. Number of languages

Whenever you are thinking of using the platform, the first thing that comes to your mind is to find out how many languages are there on the platform. If we talk about several languages on the Pimsleur and Rosetta stones then they are more than 50 and 20 respectively. However, there are many languages that are commonly spoken on both of the platforms. Below I have mentioned some of such languages that are commonly available-

• Chinese (Mandarin)
• Arabic
• English
• Spanish
• French
• German
• Hindi
• Italian 
• Dutch
• Farsi
• Greek
• Hebrew
• Irish
• Japanese
• Korean
• Portable 
• Russian 
• Latin
• Polish
• Swedish
• Tagalog 
• Turkish
• Vietnamese

However, always remember that there are way more languages on Pimsleur that are not available on Rosetta Stone.

2. Cost Comparison

Both platforms have different types of subscription plans depending on the duration and how many languages you want to learn. The subscription plan starts from $19.95 per month if you are interested in learning only one language. However, if you want to learn all the languages, then you will need to take all access then you will need to take an access subscription for $20.95 per month. There is also a lifetime excess of one level of language which is $150 and of two levels for $300. You can also take the subscription plan at 5 levels for $575.

On the other hand, if we talk about Rose Stone, you will be getting a 3-month subscription plan for $44.99 for only one language. If you want to use this platform for different languages then you will need to take an unlimited language subscription which starts at $109.99 per year.

On the other hand, if you are into resident learning all the languages you can also take lifetime access at $199.99. An above version of lifetime access for 12 months that includes love video lessons and costs you $299.99. an important point that you must remember over here is that if you have a look at the three-month subscription plan of Rosetta Stone, the monthly subscription is less than Pimsleur.

3. Live classes

Live classes are the ones where you can find online tutors to teach you to live on the platform. Rosetta Stone is a platform that offers you the live classes feature. On the other hand, if you talk about Pimsleur, it does not provide you with live classes.

How do the courses work on Pimsleur?

Pimsleur courses are basically audio-based language programs that you can use to learn the language.  The main reason behind it is that it will help you to boost your listening and speaking skills. In addition to that you will also be getting a lot of PDFs and games that will help you to evaluate your learning progress. The audio lessons (just like Duolingo audio lessons) that you get on this platform are 30 minutes long and each of the audio clips has real-life conversations. This will help you to become as fluent as a speaker.

Further, each of the conversations is also broken into various parts so that you can get a better understanding of what is going on in the audio. There are a lot of common words and phrases along with easy translations. The best part of the course on this platform is that after every single sentence, the audio is paused and you are asked to repeat it. Every language has five different levels and based on your learning requirement you can choose one of them. All the levels are structured on the basis of the difficulty level. When you will listen up to the audio lessons you will see that there is a short exchange of words between two native speakers.

After that, the moderator will help you by explaining the conversation in the English language. Once it is done, you will be asked various questions so that they can evaluate your understanding. Not only this you will also get a lot of exercises like reading short paragraphs or flashcards to help you in your language learning journey. However, an important thing that you must remember is that if you are using this platform to learn less popular languages like Arabic or Thai then you may not get many detailed lessons.

How do the courses work on Rosetta Stone?

Rosetta Stone is a platform that is as good as Pimsleur. However, one of the best features that makes this platform better than TruAccent speed recognition technology. This technique is basically the best technique that is all about repeating the words and the phrases. With the help of this technique, you will be getting an explanation of what you will see in the pictures. There are also fill-in-the-blanks while the lessons go on. Further, the core idea behind it is to listen when you are speaking the language. When you make a mistake while pronouncing a word or a phrase, you will have to repeat it again and again until and unless you pronounce it correctly.

If we talk about individual courses then you will see that each of the courses is divided into a set of units. Further, there are a lot of lessons in each of the units similar to the course structure of Duolingo which was earlier known as the Duolingo tree. Here, also the lessons are of 30 minutes duration which are followed by various exercises that will help you in the right pronunciation and grammatical knowledge. These exercises will take you 10 to 15 minutes more. Therefore we can expect that you are spending one hour learning a specific language. As mentioned earlier you will see that most of the lessons on this platform revolve around hearing the words and phrases.

Basically, you will have to listen to the word, repeat it, and match the picture. When you go through the lesson properly, you will see that there are more complex words in phrases on your screen. If you are able to score at least 85% then you can say that you are having good understanding of the language. If you are interested in having a conversation with a native speaker then this is a perfect place for you as it will focus on the right pronunciation of the words.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of Pimsleur?

Following are the benefits and drawbacks of Pimsleur-

Benefits

• There is a highly effective teaching technique to teach you the language. 
• There are a lot of audio lessons that are available in English translation as well. It will make it easy for you to learn the vocabulary of a language.
• It has a lot of flexible programs which will help you to learn the language properly. 
• You will be able to learn the pronunciation of any language with the help of modulations.

Drawbacks

• As you will be getting a 30-minute audio lesson, the learning process is very slow. 
• If you are a person who is a visual learner then you may not enjoy this platform much.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of Rosetta Stone?

Following are the benefits and drawbacks of Rosetta Stone-

Benefits

• Lessons on this platform are very short and are more focused on visual learning.
• The special voice recognition technology on this platform is very effective for improving their pronunciation.
• The main aim of this platform is to teach you a new language with the help of various games.
• You will also be getting extra learning resources like stories or only one video.

Drawbacks 

• The English explanations on this platform are very less which makes it difficult to understand the language.
• You may feel that the learning process on this platform is repetitive and may get bored after some time.

Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone: Which one should you choose?

The answer to this question is it really depends on your own needs. Suppose you want to learn a language for having quick conversations with native speakers then you may enjoy Rosetta Stone more. However, if you want to focus on many other features then Pimsleur is a perfect choice for you.

If we talk about the pricing, the Pimsleur allows you to get 1 monthly subscription plan whereas you will need to take 3 monthly subscription plans on Rosetta Stone. However, if we further divide the subscription plan of Rosetta Stone in months then the cost that you are paying on it is less than Pimsleur. Both the platforms are very good and therefore you can choose them based on your own requirements. 

What are the similarities between both platforms?

Following are the similarities between Pimsleur and Rosetta stone-

1. The level of learning

Both platforms have courses developed for learners who are freshers or beginners in a particular language. The maximum level of fluency that you can achieve with this platform is the intermediate level. Thus, if you are already at the intermediate level then you may not enjoy this platform much. 

2. Grammatical information 

Both of the platforms do not offer you much grammatical knowledge. On the rosetta stone, you will see that the grammatical explanation is that to learn the language on this platform you will have to match the words with the pictures. On the other hand, Pimsleur simply believes that for a beginner grammar is not an important topic to understand. 

3. Repetition

A repetitive system is one in which you will see the meanings of the words again and again. Due to this, you may get bored, especially in the case of Rosetta stone. The main reason behind it is that you will have to match the words again and again which will make it boring. Of course, the repetition of Pimsleur may also make it boring for you. But the platform keeps you engaged with the content.

4. Duration of the lessons

The lessons on both platforms are of the same duration. Both platforms serve lessons for 30 minutes. However, when Rosetta stone is considered, you will find that there are exercises that are 10-15 minutes long. This will take you 45 minutes in order to complete the lessons properly. 

5. Some languages

Although both the platforms have different numbers of languages there are many languages that are commonly found on both of the platforms. Some of them are French, Spanish, Greek, German, etc.

Conclusion

Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone are the platforms that will help you learn the language in a very interesting manner. An important point that you must remember is that where Pimsleur has 50 languages, Rosetta Stone will only offer you around 20 languages. However, if you are a person who loves to learn with the help of grammatical explanations then you may not enjoy both platforms.

Further, the price you pay for both the platforms is different and if you compare the price of monthly subscriptions for both of the platforms then you will see that Rosetta Stone has fewer subscription plans. Also, the teaching style of both platforms is different as Rosetta Stone will help you learn the language in a fully immersive technique. Whereas, Pimsleur will be more focused on audio-based lessons.

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